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Panavision DXL2 Night Wrap up

What a great night! 39 attended the Panavision 8K large format Millennium DXL2 night at Anifex where we were shown it's awesome capabilities.

The camera is so well designed as they get cinematographers involved in offering advice about how it works, it's ergonomics and menus.

They also had a bunch of other special Panavision lenses and gear, I think we kicked out the last guests at about 10pm. I reckon the pizza and drinks were really enjoyed too.

Many thanks to Paul Jackson and Nic Godoy from National Platinum Sponsor Panavision and also to National Gold sponsor Panasonic for supplying us with a 65" OLED monitor so we could truly appreciate the DXL2 pictures & Anifex for the venue.

Everyone had a great chance to check out the camera, the lenses and the Panavision toys.

SA branch Sponsors

Recently we approached our loyal group of sponsors to support us again for the year. Without them we would have trouble putting on our events, our Award tickets would be much dearer and we couldn't achieve what we do.

SA AGM Soon

Our 2018 AGM is coming up on Monday night August 13 so if you want to have some influence over what our branch does considering nominating for the committee or at least attending the AGM and voting the new committee in. All positions need to be elected on the night.

The AGM only takes 30 minutes and the rest of the night is devoted to fun so come along if you are a financial member. BTW membership fees were due by June 30.

Available for download (see link below) is a Committee and Executive nomination form. You are invited to either nominate yourself or another member for any of the positions and all positions will be available. Please ensure if you are nominating another member that 1) They are a current financial member; and, 2) You have discussed with them that they are willing to commit to the position.

At the commencement of the AGM all positions of the committee will be made vacant. All new positions will then be voted in by nomination. The current committee may nominate again for their positions and all current financial corporate members may nominate as well.

Please note that CineKids, Student and Associate Members are non-corporate members and are not eligible to nominate or vote for positions on the committee.

The committee is run entirely by committed volunteers and comprises around 11 monthly meetings normally held 1st Monday of the month at 6:30pm @ Anifex. Aside from the meetings, the committee is actively involved in several events that require the dedication of the group to ensure the event’s success. These include (for example) the setting up and manning of promotional booths at various events; the annual awards night (and run-up to it); screenings & Q & A's, there are many ways to be actively involved within the society.

The closing date for nominations is CoB July 12 2018. Nominations received after this time will be void. Please email the completed form to the ACS SA branch email address below.

All current committee and executive members also need to submit a nomination form to continue with the committee for the next year.

2018 SA & WA Award entries open August 1

Better start thinking about your entries for this years ACS State & Territory Awards for Cinematography as the awards entry window is August 1 to August 24.

Entry will be via our website and no late entries can be accepted as the website will shut the entry site down at CoB August 24.

All State & Territories have the same entry window.

Check out the Categories or the Terms & Conditions via our website.

Tony Salvatore Profile

Tony lines up a GoPro on the Gahn

Tony please tell us something about you that not many people know.

Well I met the queen while working at a function at Buckingham palace.

What’s your favourite film or TV show?

That’s a tough one as I love so many films and TV series but at the moment I’ve been hooked watching the Netflix series Black Mirror, just love the different screen plays and quality of production very addictive.

When did you first become interested in the industry?

As a kid I always liked playing with my Dad’s stills and video camera and was always given the role to film family functions, but I remember doing an assignment in year 10 at high school. My teacher gave us the option to present our work as a video, which I jumped at. I had so much fun making that video that I knew then and there this would be cool way to make a living.

What was your first job / project in the industry?

After completing the “Maps” course at Hamilton College which gave me the opportunity to do great work experience with in the industry, I bought a Panasonic AG-EZ1 3 CCD mini dv camera and went door knocking looking for work.

I knocked on John Francis productions door in Norwood after having spent some time doing work experience there. John and Liz Francis gave me the opportunity to film monthly meetings for the Red Cross, not exactly exciting but it got my foot in the door and my first paid job which I will always be grateful for.

What did you do when you decided to further your career?

After my experience with John Francis productions I landed a job at Channel 7 in Adelaide working as a sound recordist / camera assistant for Today Tonight, which gave me a great opportunity to work and learn from experienced cameraman on a daily basis. After 5 years in this role I was ready and keen to take a camera role on my own. I headed to North Queensland where I landed a camera / editor job in the Seven News bureau in Mackay.

I spent 12 great months there before deciding to try my luck overseas, I went to London looking for work and started making phone calls all over town the day I got there. I left my details with about 50 different production houses and TV networks all with no real positive feedback. Unfortunately the very next day the 2005 London bombs unfolded and I was the last person most offices spoke to, my phone ran hot that morning and I picked up 2 weeks’ worth of work on my 2nd day in the big smoke and never looked back from that moment on. After that I spent 4 great years in the UK working on some fascinating stories in amazing locations around the world for various international television networks.

Tony shooting 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

What has been your most interesting project so far?

Being a football fanatic it was working at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was a special moment, but one project I won’t forget was a documentary I shot in the Swiss Alps about the effects of climate change melting the glaciers on the mountain tops. I had to climb to the top of the glacier with all my camera gear / tripod and ENG camera hanging off my shoulders. They told us it would only be a 3-4 hour climb, at the half way mark they told us they had miss calculated the climb, 9 hours later we reach the top of the glacier. After camping overnight up there we made our decent the following morning, absolutely stunning scenery that will last with me forever.

I should have packed light!

Some of the challenges you faced doing that?

Firstly was the weight of all the equipment....I had over packed.....oops, climbing for that long with the weight was a serious challenge which did slow me down. Also seeing so much beautiful scenery that you want to shoot everything but having to control my temptation to shoot to consume battery life as we had no way to recharge batteries up the mountain.

Where do you think your future lies?

I’ve been back in Australia now for almost 10 years working back at Channel seven Adelaide in the Today Tonight department. I really enjoy this long form of storytelling, I would love to continue working on special investigation projects and colour stories within the industry but I’m always up for a new challenge.

Tony shooting in low light at another famous landmark

Has technology changed the way you work with gear constantly changing?

Yes, especially with the low light performance of most new cameras which these days is fantastic, it just means you can push the camera a lot further than you used to and still get a brilliant result. On certain projects I really like working with the smaller format DSLR type cameras as a second camera or sometimes as my main camera. The low light performance, variable frame rates, 4k quality along with being a smaller body means I can manoeuvre the camera into any position or location I like. Working in the commercial broadcast industry the gear is constantly changing around us, and who doesn’t like new toys to play with but as new gear is so expensive the cost of updating a whole fleet means it doesn’t happen as often as we like.

Do you think your job can be dangerous, have you been put in tricky situations?

That depends on what field you are working in, the obvious one would be if you are a war cameraman then yes, you are most likely going to be in a dangerous situations. Away from war assignments sometimes we are the last person someone wants to see when a sudden event unfolds and that can place us in a certain uncomfortable situation. So far in my career I have had bricks and stones thrown at me, been punched and kicked, grabbed in a headlock, chased with a samurai sword and my car ram raided into……so I guess you can say some elements of the job are dangerous, but a lot of fun too.

Tony frames up whilst shooting on a Bangladesh Street

Have you had to learn any special skills when filming in public?

I don’t know if these are special skills but more of a common sense approach, always be aware of your surroundings when filming in public, always be on your toes and use your initiative at all times, and most importantly always be respectful to people around you as you never know what might come back to bite you later. I have been fortunate enough to have worked as a cameraman in the Television broadcast industry for nearly 20 years, it has allowed me to see and explore some amazing landmarks and locations from many corners of the world and have worked with some fascinating people along the way.

Every day is a new adventure and I hope for many more to come in future. I don’t know too many other industries that could offer that.

Why not visit your National HQ

If you're in Sydney why not drop into our ACS HQ @ Level 2, 26 Ridge Street, North Sydney. The NSW committee will do their best to open up for you, just contact David Lewis ACS dlewis@cinematographer.net.au or 0408 273 702